In their early years, Melchester Rovers wore mauve, the MR logo was never seen on the kits, but on the club flag that proudly flew over the grandstand at the new Mel Park ground.
The Melchester city coat of arms was regularly flown in support of the Rovers and featured above the entrance to the players tunnel to the pitch. It was last seen on the Rovers blue change strips in the late 70s.
The club shield fist appeared on the special FA Cup Final shirts in 1959 and would later appear permanently on the shirts in the late 60s. The updated "redder" shield was swapped in regularly in the early 70s and remained on the shirts until the new modern kit was launched in 1973.
Other than the change strips showing the coat of arms, no badge would appear on the Rovers shirts until the controversial Gola strip of 1981-82, when the word "Rovers" with the "o" replaced with a ball was seen for the promotion season.
Rovers again went badgeless until the new look Nike strip of 1986 when what many consider the classic Rovers badge was added at the point of the v-neck collar. This badge was also used in red, but not on any of the jerseys.
Fans selected the new badge for the 1991-93 shirts, which was largely a modernised version of the previous badge, this time featuring an adidas tango inspired ball design.
After Roy Race's departure, the new era Melchester Rovers mixed and matched four badge designs across three seasons, none of which were particularly inspiring.
Neither was their replacement a drab black circle with giant oblong yellow MRFC lettering.
The final badge on the list is the latest effort, honouring the Rovers links to Tiger magazine and perhaps inspiring a new nickname.
Early Years |
Coat of Arms |
1959-60 |
Late 60s - Mid 70s |
1981-82 |
1986-91 |
1986-91 |
1991-93 |
1993-94 |
1994-95 |
1995 |
1994-96 |
1998-2000s |
2019-now |
NOTE: Other than the current badge (and the Coat of Arms image), these badges were lovingly recreated by me. The classic late 80s black badge has been used in official products, on the Copa kit and printed inside the new books. If you do use them for anything please give credit.
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